


Force in the Key of E

by Nika_Mikaela



Series: Balance Bounty Corps [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Mischief Ahoy, Once I Figure Out Tagging, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-19 11:48:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13703862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nika_Mikaela/pseuds/Nika_Mikaela
Summary: Jedi are taught to listen to the Force. It's a little too literal for Senna Tacoor's tastes sometimes but, hey, Bounty Hunting is actually pretty fun work.





	1. Egg

**Author's Note:**

> Short chapter to start, but enjoy.

It’s not like Senna wasn’t disappointed she wouldn’t be a Jedi, she loved the Temple and most everyone in it. Still, there was a bit too much emphasis on trusting in what the Force encouraged you to do during training to make staying against the insistent _ping_ of a countdown in the back of her mind a good idea.

Mind made up, Senna threw herself into her last month as an Initiate with vigor, pushing herself to learn as much as she could in the time-frame available to her, particularly the unarmed adaptations for ‘saber combat. She was sure that some of her cohort were watching in confusion, especially as she wasn’t trying to catch the eye of a master, whereas the others on the verge of their Initiate Trials definitely were. She could feel her best course of action though, maybe not as strong as some of her age-mates but it was still there, a soft melody in the back of her mind.

“Why are you so cheerful?” a fellow Initiate, Senna blinked to herself in confusion and mild reproof when she realized she’d forgotten xir name, griped as they helped bathe squirmy little Crechelings.

“Have you ever seen anything as cute as this?” she demanded brightly, using the Force to form large bubbles for the tiny to bat at. Her companion just hissed at her as a wave of sudsy water spilled down xir front, followed by a happy coo from the youngling who caused it.

“Trade you?” Senna offered, “This little one just needs dried.”

“Fine.”

 

=][=

 

Senna watched the Ataru demonstration with undisguised longing. Tonight she was going to cut her hair and sneak down to a bar, “starting a new chapter in her life” as the trashy holonovels she would never admit to reading said. Still, she wished that she was following a different melody, if only to learn Ataru properly. She remembered sneaking into a demonstration like this one as a Crecheling, eyes wide and mouth open in awe as the Masters practically flew. She’d declared firmly to an amused Master Yoda as he escorted her back to her Clan that she was going to learn to fly someday, just like the demonstrators. (She was retrieved several times after that, since her age-group’s basic lesson on Force Telekinesis, from the top of the temple where she’d been practicing.) That she hadn’t was disappointing. Still… She nodded to herself, bowing deeply to an observing Master Yoda before leaving the training salle. She’d sneak into the piloting sims one last time before getting ready. Maybe she’d beat her high score.

 

=][=

 

Getting into the bar she was apparently supposed to was exactly as tedious as Senna thought it would be, especially since she was still too young to be taught a proper mind trick. Standing and staring at the door-keeper without blinking was apparently an excellent way to convince him to let her in though, she’d have to remember that for later.

She cast her eyes around the bar, crossing off potential objectives with every off-key note from the Force. A particularly loud and discordant _blaat_ sent her stumbling into a wall, shaking her head to clear the sound. And now there were even more eyes on her. Lovely.

“Having problems?” an amused Zabrak at the table nearest to her queried.

“Mmm...no. Remind me to shoot that one in the genitals when I’m bigger though,” she waved vaguely toward the _blaat_ -being.

“What makes you think I’ll be around?”

_The Force._ Senna thought, referring to the soothing drum-rumble curling up her spine. Best not mention that though.

“Oh, no, I don’t. If you are though.”

“Sure, brat. If I am.”

“ _Gratz_ … I  have no idea where the fuck I’m going,” she breathed the last as if an aside to herself, casting her eyes about the room.

“Back home to Mommy and Daddy?” the Zabrak offered, not _quite_ mocking.

“That would require…” she counted on her fingers to make a point, “travelling six years into the past and two systems spinward. I think. Might have been the wrong file. Don’t think so though.”

“You are a very strange child.”

“I know.” She sat herself down at (on, actually) the table directly adjacent to his own, swinging her feet as she observed the patrons around her. The drum-rumble was purring into a crescendo as he seemed to make up his mind.

“Hal’ranahn Ni’eyhra, call me Hal.”

“Senna.”

“You got any interest in bounty hunting, brat?” She grinned widely, something metallic and bold joining the drums in a triumphant chorus.

“Travelling the universe trailing targets and acquiring objects? Sounds like fun.”

 


	2. Hatchling

Senna had been on the ship for approximately a week before she remembered that Hal didn’t know all her skills. She had been double-checking the inventory in the cargo hold, and making sure that functional paths were cleared where necessary without moving anything particularly out of place. She had never been so glad for her tiny-hood fixation with Force Telekinesis and its applications.

“Hoy, brat. We’re on the approach, get-The Kriff?!” She looked up from the box in her grip, following Hal’s line of sight to the levitating stack of boxes to her left. She’d told him that she was Force Sensitive that first night on the ship, hadn’t she?

“Did I forget to tell you that I used to be an Initiate at the Jedi Temple?”

“You might’ve neglected to mention that part, yeah.”

“...Oops.” Hal was not amused. His personal ‘sound’ was cautious, not mistrustful, luckily, but definitely testy.

“I thought I’d told you!” she exclaimed defensively at his narrow-eyed look, “Sure, I wasn’t gonna tell you about the music, mostly because even the Jedi weren’t positive that I wasn’t actually dealing with auditory hallucinations and then I stopped mentioning them because it just got me funny looks, but that was the first thing I was going to tell you once we were out of the bar.”

“Music?” Still testy, no caution anymore, which was faintly insulting but contextually a good thing, and curls of suppressed amusement were starting to intertwine with the harmony.

“You’re unlikely to believe me either but my usual sense of the Force is auditory-based. Haven’t the foggiest why, but it meant I got a countdown ping to the day I was going to leave the temple once I turned twelve.”

“Sounds annoying.”

“Sometimes. Is a good reference for trusting though.”

“We’ll have to test that out later. Now come on, we’re on the approach and you’re co-pilot.”

“Yeah Boss.”

“Hal, bratling, I know I told you already.”

“Yeah Boss.” He swiped at her with a mock-growl, herding her into the cockpit as she giggled. This was going to work. The bubbly woodwinds and percussion-strings purling in the back of her brain told her so.

 

=][=

 

“First order of business,” Hal declared to the dark room, lights coming up to full brightness as he entered. Senna groaned weakly, covering her eyes. She had been awake, but the rapid transition from quiet darkness as she meditated into bright light gave her a brief headache.

“...Were you just sitting here in the dark?”

“You weren’t awake when I got up and I don’t need the light to meditate.”

“...Moving on. First order of business: ship maintenance.”

“Oh joy. Helper lizard time.” Hal cocked a brow at her.

“I’ll remind you that you found me, brat. Get up, get some food, and then we’re maintaining the forward turret.” That perked her right up. Senna just knew Hal was making a note of that for future reference, but she liked weapons. They were fascinating and a good impression of the culture that created them.

 

=][=

 

“Hal’Ranahn, you young scoundrel,” the cheerful Weequay behind the bar yelled over the blare of the nightclub band. Senna was shielding tightly to avoid the probably cacophonic sensation echoing from so many dancing, she didn’t dare release it to examine this new stranger. Hal seemed to trust him though, so they were probably fine.

“Khan,” Hal responded politely, curving his hand over the cap of Senna’s shoulder semi-protectively. The Togruta leering consideringly from the far end of the bar looked away sharply. Senna was of the opinion that he should be subjected to her wide, blank stare, since even Hal agreed it was vaguely creepy, but there was more important business to be done.

“And who is this young lady? There aren’t any princesses on the Bounty Board.” Senna tried not to blush in embarrassed delight, but she wasn’t quite thirteen, even if she was a former Jedi Initiate.

“Nah, this bratlet’s mine. She signed on a month or so back because I couldn’t leave her in that bar by herself,” he lifted his eyebrows and nodded toward the room behind the bar.

“I probably would have been fine Boss.” The Weequay snickered, guiding them into the back with a broad gesture, as Hal whapped her lightly.

“You did see the part where the Dao you wanted to shoot in the bits heard you say that, right?” Her wide-eyed innocent expression almost made Hal feel guilty for the gentle cuff upside the head preceding his words. Almost. Senna would work on it. Maybe the ratio of innocence to delicacy was off?

“Fresh out of the temple, hm?” Senna stiffened, eyes narrowing. He laughed brightly.

“Not to worry, not to worry. You, my dear, are mostly inconspicuous. You are also not the first young one to pass through here after leaving the Temple for some reason or another. I’ve not met many, certainly, and fewer still were in such safe hands as you, but one learns how to notice that sort of thing.” It was a reasonable explanation, she supposed. She was rather worried about the former Jedi younglings that this Khan had met before her though. Hal sighed at the expression on her face.

“I think we’re going to need a list of names when we leave Khan.”

“Happy to be of service, my friend. There is only so much a humble club proprietor can do on his own. Particularly when the scum of the earth choose not to drink.” Senna decided she liked Khan. She gently lifted her shields to feel out the situation that way and couldn’t help but smile. A pi-kalt flute was not the instrument she would have expected, but it was suitable once she considered it, and very amusing.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, off we go. Chapters will expand as I get a better feel for Senna and her particular Force Sense. (Yes it is inspired by that one Tumblr post that I can't manage to find again.)


End file.
